Page:A History of Hindi Literature.djvu/107

 THE MODERN PERIOD 93 The Hindi and Bihari Drama.— The Hindi drama is of very recent origin. Some earlier writers produced what are called 7idtaks, or plays. Among these were Dev (fl. 1700), the author of Dev Maya Prapayich; Newaj (fi. 1700), who wrote the Sakuntala ; Braj Basi Das (fi. 1770), who wrote the Probodh Chatidroday , and some others. But their works were either without entrances and exits of the characters, or lacking in other essentials of dramatic poetry. The first real play in Hindi was the Nahush Ndtak, written by Go pal Cha7id (alias Giri Dhar Das) in 1857. It deals with Indra's expulsion from his throne by Nahush and his subsequent reinstatement. Next came the Sakimtald (1862) of Raja Lakshman Singh (1826-1899), which is very famous and much admired. Hari'schaiidra then began to write dramas, his first being Vidyd Sundar. He wrote eighteen altogether. Other writers of Hindi drama were Sy-inivds Das, Totd Ram, Gopdl Rdjn, Kdsl Ndth Khattri, Piirohit Gopl Ndth, Laid Slid Rdyn, besides many others. The first Hindi play was performed in 1868. In Bihar the dramatic tradition is very much older. Vidydpali Thdkur, who belongs to the middle of the fifteenth century, is reputed to be the author of two plays. Ldl Jhd (fi. 1780) wrote a play called Gaurl Parinay. In the early part of the nineteenth century Bhd7m Ndth Jhd wrote the Prabhdvati Haran and later Harsh Ndth Jhd wrote the Ushd Haran. The Bihari drama, however, differs from the Hindi in one very important feature, for the characters speak in Sanskrit and Prakrit, and only the songs are written in the Maithili dialect. Anthologies.— The revival of interest in Hindi litera- ture and its appeal through the printing-press to a wider public is illustrated by the large number of anthologies of Hindi verse which have appeared in this period. Besides those of Lallu JI Lai and Harischandra, which have already been mentioned, the following may be noted : — The Rdg-Sagarodbhdv Rdg Kalpadriim contains selections from the works of more than two hundred